IT Applications and Groupware Essay

Groupw be applied science uses softw atomic number 18 that collaborate the fit of different groups. It is based on interior net stools and centralised storage space. The purpose is to facilitate fast communication without material contact. Groupware includes email, workflow, calendaring, instant messaging and conferencing.Implementation StrategiesThe three main strategies for effective murder and use of groupware are as followsUnderstanding the Organizational RequirementsThis is the most primary(prenominal) part for implementation each technology or group in an organisation. Different system of ruless regard different groupware products as they have different requirements. (Hills) A groupware that is good for one organization might turn out to be a disaster for a nonher. so it is necessary to understand the requirements of the organization onwards implementing any new technology. This involves the study of underlying business surgical processes and work flows, routine them and and then identifying gaps and areas which un turn awayableness improvement or need to be automated. The goals of the company, its organization mental synthesis and size are important factors in evaluating what is best for the company. monumental companies with great number of employees require higher level of collaboration as compared to sm solely companies and therefore need more complex technology. The communication structure within the organization is as well as an important factor. Some organizations follow a strict and formal structure of conversing while others rely on less(prenominal) formal way of life. Thus the communication style needfully to be mum before implementing technology to automate it. Lastly the new technology essential blend well with the exist systems.Most of the organization do non follow a sharing culture and population standardised to work independently and are reluctant to share training. Implementing Groupware technology in such(pre nominal) an organization will not be effective as mass would oppose any change that will be threat to their animated culture. The solution lies in first changing the organization culture and then implementing the new technology. The company should promote a cooperative culture that encourages people to work in teams and share their work and ideas. (Hills)Managing and Training pluralityPeople are an important asset of any organization. If their demand and requirements are not satisfied then any change introduced in bound to fail. Unless the technology is accepted by the users, any investment in that technology would be a complete failure. People usually oppose change because they like doing the things they have always been done. then it is important to understand their concerns, problems and interactions before implementing the groupware technology. They need to be assured that the new technology is not to replace them exclusively to make their work more efficient and fast. Em ployees most fear the harm of control and privacy as groupware makes everything available to everyone through a centralized system. These fears can be overcome by making people a part of implementation process and involving them as much as possible. except people do not like to follow standard operational procedure and follow the more convenient methods. Thus the actual work practices need to be studied and incorporated in the groupware systems. (Hills)The success of any investment in technology depends on how readily it is accepted by the users. Therefore whenever a new technology is introduced the user must(prenominal) be trained to use it. They must be made to feel desexualise and assured that the technology is to improve their work. Organizations must hold training and converse sessions to cover all their needs and to involve them in the implementation process as much as possible. The purpose and benefits of the new groupware technology must be well communicated.3. Using t he Right Technology and ToolsOnce the organization and people requirements are well understood, the organization knows which technology is suitable for them. but other than the organizational structure and people, the technology infrastructure of the organization is also an important factor. There are four main factors to consider intragroup Network StructureThe groupware technology is meant to provide a shared surround through collaboration and therefore require good understanding of the existing network technology. Network delays, User interface, audio/video quality, notifications and concurrency control are vital considerations since they all affect the user experience. (Brinck, 1998)If the existing Networks of the company are not up to the standard and face considerable delays and suffer from averse response time then implementing any new technology would do no good but will actually make things worse. Therefore organizations must upgrade their technology infrastructure inclu ding internal networks to utilize replete benefit of the new technology. Collaborative toolsOne of the challenges in the collaborative surround is the tracking of shared documents. In a shared environment documents are used by two-fold people and there exist multiple copies of the akin document in different places. This makes hard to identify which the terminal version of the document. So Tracking and Version Control tools in groupware go forward a record of all changes in a document and bear witness the user with one final version. Features like Digital Signatures also assistance in tracking documents by storing information about who holds the document at what time and what changes were made. (Miller, 2005) Maintaining Privacy and ControlSince collaborative systems allow sharing of information, therefore Privacy and Security are the two major challenges faced by organizations implementing groupware. However some information is private and needs to be protected. The collabor ative environment of groupware technology allows all information to be available to everyone at all time. This may lead to unauthorized access of information. One way to protect confidential information is to gives users control over what information they call for to share. Also enforcing controls over what information a user can legal opinion saves private information to be seen by users who do not require it. (Brinck , 1998) Consistency and ConcurrencyIn groupware systems, one document is come acrossed by multiple users. Therefore it is important that consistency is maintained and all users view the same attribute of information. For example if one user has red color for a special(a) document and the other user has a blue color for the same document then this will create confusion. All users must be view the same data. To avoid this misunderstanding users must now what information is private and what information is shared. It is also important that users are provided customiz ed view as all users dont require everything. However customization requirements must not conflict with consistency. Every user must know how others are screening the information. (Brinck, 1998)Concurrency is coordinating multiple tasks that are done at the same time. In a shared environment one document can be accessed by multiple users. This causes problems like one somebody accessing the document for all the time, unauthorized access and conflicting changes made by all users. To avoid such issues techniques like floor control, locking and merging is used. In this merely one person can control over who accesses the document and for what time. The person who wants to access the document locks it so that other users can just view it without modifying. Similarly all users can edit the document during the time it is locked with them. In the end all the changes by different users are merged unneurotic so that the users have one final document at the end. (Brinck, 1998) terminationTe chnology infrastructure including the internal networks of the organization is importantissue that needs attention for any new technology implementation. However the social matchcannot be ignored. It is highly required for successful implementation that the technology fulfillsthe needs of users and is accepted by them.